The present invention is directed to the field of medical care. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a portable resuscitation organizer platform which can be used in a medical emergency.
In most medical emergencies, time is of the essence. A matter of one minute can make the difference between resuscitating a victim to complete health and losing them to a persistent vegetative state or, perhaps, being unable to revive them at all. Within hospitals, equipment stored in cabinets and on shelves and in “crash carts” are used to handle emergencies requiring Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and a variety of invasive medical procedures constituting advanced life support. The “crash carts” are typically quite bulky and frequently left outside the immediate vicinity of the patient, necessitating calling out for items which are retrieved by others and passed in, or running back and forth to obtain and apply the necessary medical equipment. These carts are entirely unsuitable for dealing with medical emergencies outside of the hospital setting such as at the scene of a vehicle crash or in an ambulance as the patient is transported to the hospital. In the pre-hospital setting, equipment and supplies are stuffed into packs and kits stored in compartments in the interior or exterior of the vehicle. The difficulties of initiating Emergency Medical Service (EMS) resuscitations in the field are compounded by weather conditions, poor lighting, vehicle motion and lack of assistance.
Various attempts have been made to store medical equipment in transportable devices to enable paramedics to revive victims at accident scenes or in transport vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,505 to Power stores supplies for emergency burn treatment and U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,866 to Thomas discloses a medical satchel with pockets for storing supplies for medical emergencies. Other similar devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,303 to Salvadori which provides a storage roll for sterile medical equipment for such procedures as urethral catheterization. These prior art devices suffer from a number of deficiencies. They are little more than glorified knapsacks; while they do provide space for storage, they do not put the needed supplies at the caregiver's fingertips, in the immediate vicinity of the patient, or at the immediate anatomical site of use. Searching for the right medical equipment results in critical time delays which jeopardize the survival of the patient. Further, these devices are not intended to support the victim during the procedure. An ambulance stretcher, gurney or hospital bed has a cushion or mattress which renders cardiac compressions during CPR ineffective. Thus, a piece of plywood, or similar board, is typically placed under the patient before beginning CPR.
These shortcomings of the prior art are overcome by the portable resuscitation organizer platform (P.R.O.P.) of the present invention. The platform is designed to underlie the patient and the necessary medical equipment is anatomically arranged around the patient in regions adjacent specific body portions where items contained in the compartments will be needed for procedures performed on the patient. The patient support zone has a recessed portion for receiving and retaining the patient's head. This region may have additional padding for the patient's comfort. The storage compartments are provided with see-through closures to enable the contents to be quickly determined without the need for opening the compartments. Some of the compartments are provided with a resilient backing means to push the contents to the front of the compartment where they may be quickly accessed. The platform can be collapsed for easy transport to the location of the emergency, where it is unrolled, and the patient placed upon it. The platform can be stored in an enclosing carrier bag for extended periods of storage between uses. The carrier bag also facilitates transport to and from the location of the emergency. The P.R.O. platform is provided with a collapsible intravenous (IV) support stand and a plurality of receptacles which can receive it during use.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.